*Toyota wage talks seen as bellwether for Japan firms. TOYOTA CITY/ TOKYO, Feb 25- Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it was "impossible" to meet union demands for a 13,300 yen monthly pay rise, as the automaker concluded the first day of labour talks widely considered crucial for Japan's economic recovery. Workers at Japan's eight automakers are all seeking base...

TOKYO, Feb 25- Japanese stocks steadied around a 15- year high on Wednesday morning in a choppy morning session, as cautiousness over an over-heating market was partially countered by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's message of policy flexibility. At 0124 GMT, it was up 0.2 percent at 18,643.28 after peaking at 18,648.77 earlier, the highest point since...

NEW YORK, Feb 24- JPMorgan Chase& Co said on Tuesday the bank has been questioned by the U.S. Department of Justice over auto lending practices that possibly resulted in discrimination. JPMorgan is the fifth-largest U.S. auto lender behind Ally Financial Inc, Wells Fargo& Co, Toyota Motor Corp's in-house lending arm and Capital One Financial Corp, according to...

DETROIT, Feb 24- Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus brand finished on top of the Consumer Reports annual "brand report card" for the third straight year, the influential U.S. magazine said on Tuesday. Toyota came in third, followed by Volkswagen AG's Audi from Germany and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd's Subaru from Japan. Ranking eighth through 10th were namesake brands from...

DETROIT, Feb 24- Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus brand finished on top of the Consumer Reports annual "brand report card" for the third straight year, the influential U.S. magazine said on Tuesday. Mazda Motor Corp was second and the best finisher among non-luxury brands. Toyota came in third, followed by Volkswagen AG's Audi from Germany and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd's...

TOKYO, Feb 24- Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange must have at least two outside board members from June, the bourse's operator said, under new rules aimed at improving corporate governance and attracting foreign investors. The announcement comes as the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to change corporate culture to attract double the...

TOKYO, Feb 24- Japan's Nikkei share average edged up on Tuesday but investors were cautious ahead of comments from U.S. Expectations that the Fed will hike interest rates this year amid signals of a strengthening U.S. economy have kept the market sensitive to the prospects of capital outflows from Asia back to the United States. Yellen testifies before Congress...

*Takata underperforms after U.S. slaps on daily fine. TOKYO, Feb 23- Japan's Nikkei share average hit a new 15- year high on Monday after euro zone finance ministers reached a deal to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months. "The debt deal is giving comfort to the market," said Masashi Oda, chief investment officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust...

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21- U.S. West Coast ports will resume full operations from Saturday evening after a tentative labor deal was reached between a dockworkers union and a group of shippers, easing months of disruptions to trans-Pacific trade that have hit businesses from automakers to meat exports. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez arrived in San Francisco to broker a...

LOS ANGELES, Feb 21- A group of shipping companies and a powerful dockworkers union reached a tentative labor deal late on Friday after nine months of negotiations, settling a dispute that disrupted the flow of cargo through 29 U.S. West Coast ports and snarled trans-Pacific maritime trade with Asia. The White House called the deal "a huge relief" for the economy,...